Pakistan expressed satisfaction with the meeting but said lasting peace could not be achieved in the region till the issue of Kashmir is settled.
Pakistan today expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the meeting between president Asif Ali Zardari and prime minister Manmohan Singh but said lasting peace could not be achieved in the region till the "core issue" of Kashmir is settled.
Listing the "tangible outcomes" of the parleys between Zardari and Singh on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Russia, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said the two countries had decided on future meetings of their foreign secretaries and political leadership.
"The outcome of the meeting was satisfactory as the two foreign secretaries will meet in the future. We hope they will be able to look at all issues (between the two countries)," Basit said.
Pakistan had not been expecting the Zardari-Singh meeting to lead to immediate resumption of composite dialogue, stalled following the Mumbai terror attacks, Basit told a weekly news briefing, responding to a question about Islamabad's expectations from the meeting on Tuesday.
He said Kashmir remained a "core issue" that needs to be settled for viable and lasting peace between India and Pakistan and in South Asia, emphasising the need for a "fair and just settlement" in line with aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Singh and Zardari agreed that the foreign secretaries of the two countries would hold talks before another meeting between them on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement summit in Egypt in July.
However, Basit said the Pakistani delegation to the NAM summit at Sharm el-Sheikh would be led by prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. He said Pakistan hoped these upcoming meetings would be "result-oriented" and lead to the resumption of the composite dialogue.
Asked about Indian foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon's contention that his upcoming meeting with his Pakistani counterpart would focus on terrorism, Basit said Islamabad was not averse to discussing the issue as "terrorism concerns us the most".
However, Pakistan is also looking forward to resumption of dialogue that covers other issues like the military stand-off on Siachen and Sir Creek maritime boundary dispute that "continue to bedevil" bilateral relations, he said.
In reply to yet another question, Basit said Pakistan was not "begging with anyone" for the resumption of dialogue with India.
"It is our desire that the two countries sit together and resolve all issues peacefully. This stand reinforces our responsible attitude," he added.
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